In the depths of the screen, the piercing cries seemed to echo endlessly, as if breaking through the shackles of time and space.
The raging flames roared like a mad dragon, devouring everything in their path, leaving behind only scorched earth and ashes.
At this moment, the timeline froze at the cruel memory of the Fourth Holy Grail War.
Emiya Kiritsugu stared at the light screen, his expression one of shock, as if he had been petrified, unable to move.
He had given everything, even shouldering endless sins, all to win this Holy Grail War.
He had only one goal—to end the endless cycle of war, to save humanity from its dire plight, and to create a world free from conflict and conspiracy, where mankind could embrace eternal happiness.
Yet, his life had become a sacrifice to achieve this goal, reduced to ashes.
But what was the result? Destruction!
Had he lost this Holy Grail War?
Or had Caster's Master emerged victorious?
That guy was a complete madman!
If he wished for the destruction of humanity upon the Holy Grail...
No!
And the King of Heroes, who regarded all living beings as ants—he might also be the culprit!
After all his efforts, was Emiya Kiritsugu destined to accept defeat?
Resentment and frustration surged like a tidal wave, flooding his heart.
...
"I see." Tōsaka Rin's eyelashes trembled slightly as she finally understood the truth behind the Fuyuki City fire. "It was because of the Fourth Holy Grail War..."
Though she had been just a child at the time, that war had been seared into her memory in ways she could not fully comprehend.
Disaster and pain were her most profound impressions of that conflict.
Her parents had died in that war, and the city had been engulfed in flames.
This was one of the reasons she was determined to participate in this war.
"Emiya Kiritsugu..." Archer slowly uttered the name, a complex emotion flickering in his eyes.
To Red A, this man was both the one who had given him new life and the one who had stripped his life of meaning.
How absurd!
This mistake should have been corrected from the very beginning.
At this moment, Red A felt even more determined to end Emiya Shirō with his own hands.
...
The video continued to play. In the burning Fuyuki City, a red-haired boy dragged his injured body, struggling forward.
His eyes were hollow and numb, as if he had endured too much unspeakable pain.
Emiya Shirō—he was only eight years old that year, yet he was bearing an unbearable weight in his life.
Suddenly, a figure appeared before him.
The young boy looked up at the tall figure, his eyes filled with confusion.
But somehow...
He caught a whiff of sorrow akin to his own from this person.
...
Emiya Residence
"That fire... was caused by Kiritsugu?!" Endless pain surged into his heart like a tide.
He had always admired Emiya Kiritsugu—it was he who had adopted him from the flames and healed his wounded heart.
Kiritsugu's dream was to become a "hero of justice," and Shirō had always wanted to inherit that dream.
But now he was being told that the culprit behind all his misfortune was actually Emiya Kiritsugu?
Emiya Shirō's worldview seemed to crack at this moment.
...
On the light screen, the video continued to play.
Amidst flashes of light and fragmented scene transitions, subtitles slowly emerged:
[Holy Grail War——]
[Using summoning circles as bridges and holy relics as keys, the heroic souls from the long river of human history are unlocked. They descend as Servants in seven classes: Saber, Lancer, Rider, Archer, Berserker, Caster, and Assassin. They form life-and-death alliances with their Masters and pursue the supreme Holy Grail together.]
[In the vast tapestry of fate, Emiya Kiritsugu stood at the peak of the Fourth Holy Grail War as a victor.]
[Emiya Kiritsugu, a tragic figure who witnessed the endless darkness of the world, made a great vow in his childhood: to become a hero of justice and save all of humanity from its dire straits.]
[He accepted the trust of the Einzbern family, used the scabbard of King Arthur (Artoria) left behind in the world as a catalyst, and successfully summoned the Saber-class Heroic Spirit—King Arthur, Artoria Pendragon.]
[But ultimate victory—fate played a cruel joke on him.]
[The Holy Grail, a miraculous object combining the Third Magic with the deep magical energy beneath Fuyuki City, is said to possess the mysterious power to fulfill all human wishes.]
[Yet the so-called "almighty wish-granting device" is merely a counterfeit.]
[Though it contains astonishing magical energy, it cannot fulfill his grand wish to save all of humanity.]
[It was already corrupted during the Second Holy Grail War, becoming the embodiment of evil in the world.]
[Any benevolent wish would be maliciously distorted by it.]
[If one wished to "save all humanity," it would be misinterpreted as achieving "salvation" by destroying humanity.]
[Upon learning the truth, Emiya Kiritsugu resolutely used his Command Seals, forcing King Arthur (Artoria) to unleash the infinite power of her holy sword and completely destroy the evil Holy Grail. However, this act also caused a great disaster in Fuyuki City.]
[Afterward, Emiya Kiritsugu, who had lost everything, became a broken man contaminated by the Holy Grail, his life hanging by a thread.]
[The appearance of Emiya Shirō brought him a glimmer of hope for redemption.]
[And this boy, whom he saw as hope, also drew strength from him and inherited his lofty ideal of becoming a hero of justice.]
...
As the scenes shifted rapidly, those watching the light screen sighed in reflection.
[Gilgamesh: Disgusting! This is not divine punishment from the king...]
[Antonio Salieri: A pitiful victim!]
[Utsumi Erice: As expected... that vile Holy Grail is the root of all misfortune. Even with grand ambitions... if the Holy Grail itself is evil, then all one can wish for is evil itself...]
[Jeanne d'Arc: ...So it was... that evil Holy Grail that caused all these tragedies?]
[Gilles de Rais: @Jeanne d'Arc!!!]
[Aozaki Aoko: Wait... you mentioned the Third Magic?]
[Aozaki Tōko: Although, @Aozaki Aoko you're always a fool, things don't seem as simple as they appear...]
[...]
And at the same time—
Beyond the light screen, the witnesses of the Fourth Holy Grail War were deeply shaken!